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Mister Cee, a famed hip-hop DJ and key figure behind Notorious B.I.G.’s debut album, dies at 57

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mister Cee, one of hip-hop’s pioneering DJs and a New York City radio personality who played an instrumental role in the Notorious B.I.G.‘s debut album, has died. He was 57.

The famed disk jockey’s death was confirmed Wednesday by Skip Dillard, the brand manager at 94.7 The Block NYC, where Cee had a show. The cause of death has not been announced.

“We’ve lost one of the most important figures in the industry,” 94.7 The Block said in a social media post.

Mister Cee was a key player in the rap community. He was formerly Big Daddy Kane’s DJ and an executive producer on The Notorious B.I.G.’s groundbreaking 1994 debut, “Ready to Die.”

The New York native was also a radio personality on his hometown’s Hot 97. But he briefly quit his gig in 2013 after arrests in connection with soliciting prostitutes. Audio of one encounter surfaced online.

After that last incident, Mister Cee denied trying to solicit sex from a male, and said an undercover female police officer approached him. He also denied being homosexual.

But Mister Cee soon went back on air for an interview on Hot 97 with Ebro Darden and confessed in a tearful interview to having same-sex encounters with prostitutes. However, he also said he didn’t consider himself gay or bisexual.

During the interview, Mister Cee worried if his admission might hurt him: “Am I still going to be looked at the same way?”

But Mister Cee gained support from some within hip-hop – which was surprising at the time, given that the community had often been branded homophobic due to anti-gay lyrics by some of its biggest stars.

“Whatever Mister Cee does with his personal life, more power to him,” said Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, leader of The Roots in a 2013 interview. “He shouldn’t be ashamed of that. We got to grow up eventually.”

Mister Cee ultimately decided not to quit his job at Hot 97 and go to therapy after Darden persuaded him to stay put. At the time, he teamed up with the AIDS Health Foundation for a “new sexual revolution” campaign where he encouraged others to open up about their sexuality and use protection.

But Mister Cee’s return to the station was short lived. He left in 2014.

Throughout the years, Mister Cee maintained his respect within the rap industry and kept working on other radio programs, spinning throwback tracks on his show on 94.7 The Block before his death.

“I’m so blessed to have known him,” Dillard said on social media.





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Growing demand for minerals sparks Indigenous outcry over ‘business as usual’ mining practices

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BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Indigenous representatives from 35 countries issued a declaration Thursday criticizing the fact that they are too rarely consulted about mining that takes place on or near their lands, an issue that has become more acute with increased demand for minerals needed in the transition to a cleaner energy system.

“We recognize and support the need to end fossil fuel reliance and shift to renewable energy as critical in addressing the climate crisis,” the statement read. “However, the current trajectory of the energy transition fails to meet the criteria of justice, social equity, and environmental sustainability, particularly from the perspectives of Indigenous Peoples’ rights and well-being.”

The document comes out of the Conference on Indigenous Peoples and the Just Transition which took place in New York last week. Indigenous leaders from the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Kenya, Australia and Norway among other countries attended.

Lithium, nickel and cobalt are often used in batteries, which are key to both electric vehicles and extending production from solar and wind farms. Copper and aluminum are in higher demand as countries expand their electrical grids. Lesser-known rare earth elements are used in magnets in electric motors.

Mining has left a legacy of environmental damage in many places for more than a century and is now expanding.

The declaration also mentioned increasing criminal persecution and attacks against Indigenous leaders.

The statement called out both the International Council of Mining and Metals, a trade group that says it represents a third of the industry, and the International Seabed Authority, for failing to respect Indigenous rights and conducting what it calls business as usual. Neither group responded to queries from The Associated Press.

About half of energy transition minerals and metal projects are located on or near the lands of Indigenous and other subsistence farmers, according to a study published in 2022 by the journal Nature Sustainability.

“We are those who generate the least impact on the planet,” Ruth Alipaz Cuqui, an Indigenous leader from the Bolivian Amazon who attended the conference, told the AP in a phone interview. “But even so, we understand that we have to be part of this whole process.” That participation should be comprehensive or else the energy transition will not be fair, she said.

Alipaz Cuqui cited conflicts in the arid region of Uyuni, Bolivia, where local communities oppose the intense use of water to produce lithium. The project, still in its beginnings, is a joint venture between Bolivia and China. The Bolivian Ministry of Energy did not respond to a request for comment.

The lead organizer for the conference was the Indigenous Peoples Rights International, a nonprofit registered in the Philippines and the U.S., with financial support from Nia Tero, a nonprofit that supports Indigenous rights, The Christensen Fund, the Henry Luce Foundation, the Waverley ST Foundation, and the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, according to the event website.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.





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‘Miss Peregrine’ author Ransom Riggs to launch new fantasy series, ‘Sunderworld’

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NEW YORK (AP) — Ransom Riggs’ first new series since the million-selling “Miss Peregrine” books will launch this summer.

“Sunderworld, Vol. 1 The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry” begins the adventures of a Los Angeles teen who, after his mother’s death, has some surreal encounters in his everyday life. Dutton Books for Young Readers, a Penguin Random House imprint, will publish “Sunderworld” on Aug. 27.

“I’ve always been drawn to portal fantasies in fiction,” Riggs said in a statement Wednesday. “They feel like invitations to optimistic worlds where, ultimately, joy is possible, if only you can find the key. We’re living through some very heavy, very dark times — we have been for a while — and this story is meant to be an escape — and a respite from darkness.”

Riggs’ “Miss Peregrine” novels have sold more than 10 million copies. The first book in the series, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” was adapted by Tim Burton into a 2016 film starring Eva Green.





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ABBA, Blondie, and the Notorious B.I.G. enter the National Recording Registry

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — ABBA, Biggie, Blondie and Rudolph are entering America’s audio canon.

New inductees into the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress include ABBA ‘s 1976 album “Arrival,” The Notorious B.I.G. ‘s 1994 album “Ready to Die,” Blondie ‘s 1978 breakthrough “Parallel Lines” and Gene Autry’s 1949 version of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the 25 new titles in the class of 2024 on Tuesday, saying in a statement that they are “worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.”

Puerto Rican singer Héctor Lavoe’s signature song, 1978’s “El Cantante,” written by Ruben Blades, will enter the registry, along with Mexican singer Juan Gabriel ’s tribute to his mother, “Amor Eterno.” The library is enshrining a 1990 recording of the song first released in 1984.

Other titles deemed to be among “the defining sounds of the nation’s history and culture” are Jefferson Airplane’s 1967 album “Surrealistic Pillow,” Green Day ’s 1994 album “Dookie” and The Chicks ’ 1998 “Wide Open Spaces,” the most recording among the new inductees.

Lily Tomlin’s 1971 album of sketches “This Is a Recording” is the only comedy and the only non-musical recording on this year’s list.

Autry, the singing cowboy who was among America’s biggest stars in the mid-20th century, recorded the definitive version of “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Last year a newer holiday perennial, Mariah Carey’s, “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” joined the registry, which now has 650 titles.

“Arrival” was the disco-tinged fourth album from the Swedish supergroup ABBA, and included their hits “Dancing Queen,” “Money, Money, Money” and “Fernando.”

Blondie and singer Debbie Harry had their commercial breakthrough with “Parallel Lines,” an album with a famous striped black-and-white cover that featured “Heart of Glass.” It’s joined this year by another new wave classic from the same year, the self-titled debut album by the Cars.

The Notorious B.I.G.’s 1994 album “Ready to Die” featuring “Juicy” and “Big Poppa,” the only album released during his life, headlines hip-hop entries that also include “La-Di-Da-Di” — Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick’s 1985 single.

“Rocket ‘88’” by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats, the 1951 single that some argue was the first rock ‘n’ roll song, is also on the list.

Career-defining singles from several canonical artists are also entering the registry, including “Chances Are,” from Johnny Mathis, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” from Bobby McFerrin,” “The Tennessee Waltz” from Patti Page and “Ain’t No Sunshine” from Bill Withers.

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This story has been corrected to report that the ABBA album included is “Arrival,” not “The Visitors.”





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